Abstract

The fracture behavior of 2024-O (annealed) and 2024-T3 (precipitation hardened) aluminum alloys used in aeronautical applications have been characterized. The study of the annealed alloy was carried out through the concept of Essential Specific Work of Fracture, using the ESIS protocol. DENT (Double Edge Notch Tension) samples were used, varying the ligament length in order to determine the relationship between the essential specific work of fracture and the thickness of the material. In the case of 2024-T3 alloy, the essential specific work of fracture was determined only for low thicknesses, where the predominant conditions are plane stress. However, for this alloy, the results were not conclusive because of the high fracture toughness of these hardened alloys. Finally, the fracture surface of these alloys was characterized finding a ductile mechanism in the case of the annealed alloy and ductile-brittle mechanism in the case of the hardened alloy.